About Keystone Compliance

EN 60529 Testing

IEC 60529 is also known as the IP Code or Ingress Protection Rating and sometimes also referred to as the International Protection Rating. The IP Code consists of the letters “IP” and then either two digits or one digit and one letter and an optional letter. The first digit is the protection from solid particles and the second digit is the protection from liquids. The requirements of IEC 60529 testing are identical to those detailed in EN 60529 testing.

Each test in IEC 60529 specifies parameters such as the size of the solid particle or the duration, flow rate, temperature, depth and angle of the water. Whether a device meets or fails to meet the requirements of IEC 60529, is often left to the manufacturer to determine. It is common for some ingress to occur and the device to continue to properly operate and the unit to be considered to have met the requirement.

What sets Keystone Compliance’s IEC 60529 testing apart from our competition is our experience in helping manufacturers determine ingress points in their products and also identifying potential solutions. We also have significant expertise in interpreting the requirements of IEC 60529, which often provides manufacturers with flexibility in determining acceptable amounts of ingress. Keystone Compliance also has experience with offsite ingress protection testing if the device requiring testing cannot be moved,

Why is Keystone Compliance the right ingress protection lab to complete your IEC 60529 tests? Our IP Code customers enjoy our ability to explain the process and testing requirements, short lead times, consultative engineering support when failures occur and affordable pricing. This customer service has allowed us to become one of the fastest growing companies in the country and most respected test labs in the region.

Contact us to receive a quote for IEC 60529 and EN 60529 testing and see why we are the only ingress protection lab for so many manufacturers from around the country.

Level

Object size protected against

Effective against

0

No protection against contact and ingress of objects

1

>50 mm

Any large surface of the body, such as the back of a hand, but no protection against deliberate contact with a body part

2

>12.5 mm

Fingers or similar objects

3

>2.5 mm

Tools, thick wires, etc.

4

>1 mm

Most wires, screws, etc.

5

Dust protected

Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete protection against contact

6

Dust tight

No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact

The second digit indicates the level or protection that the enclosure provides against access to hazardous parts and the ingress of water.

Level

Protected against

Testing for

Details

0

Not protected

1

Dripping water

Dripping water (vertically falling drops) shall have no harmful effect.

Test duration: 10 minutes

Water equivalent to 1mm rainfall per minute

2

Dripping water when tilted up to 15°

Vertically dripping water shall have no harmful effect when the enclosure is tilted at an angle up to 15° from its normal position.

Test duration: 10 minutes

Water equivalent to 3mm rainfall per minute

3

Spraying water

Water falling as a spray at any angle up to 60° from the vertical shall have no harmful effect.

Test duration: 5 minutes

Water volume: 0.7 litres per minute

Pressure: 80–100 kN/m²

4

Splashing water

Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect.

Test duration: 5 minutes

Water volume: 10 litres per minute

Pressure: 80–100 kN/m²

5

Water jets

Water projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) against enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects.

Test duration: at least 3 minutes

Water volume: 12.5 litres per minute

Pressure: 30 kN/m² at distance of 3m

6

Powerful water jets

Water projected in powerful jets (12.5mm nozzle) against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects.

Test duration: at least 3 minutes

Water volume: 100 litres per minute

Pressure: 100 kN/m² at distance of 3m

7

Immersion up to 1 m

Ingress of water in harmful quantity shall not be possible when the enclosure is immersed in water under defined conditions of pressure and time (up to 1 m of submersion).

Test duration: 30 minutes

Immersion at depth of 1m

8

Immersion beyond 1 m

The equipment is suitable for continuous immersion in water under conditions which shall be specified by the manufacturer. Normally, this will mean that the equipment is hermetically sealed. However, with certain types of equipment, it can mean that water can enter but only in such a manner that it produces no harmful effects.

Test duration: continuous immersion in water

Depth specified by manufacturer

The IP Code defines additional letters that can be appended to classify only the level or protection against hazardous parts by persons or additional information related to the protection of the device:A – Back of handB – FingerC – ToolD – WireH – High voltage deviceM – Device moving during water testS – Device standing still during water testW – Weather conditions

Mechanical Impact Resistance numbers are sometimes used to identify the energy needed to qualify a specified resistance level, which is measured in joules (J). It is important to note that mechanical impact resistance was dropped from the third edition of IEC 60529 onwards.